Picking up where the original Quake left off, Q!Zone offers 35 new maps and three different episodes to make sure that, for Quake fans, the fun never ends. And it's clear from the get-go that the folks at WizardWorks didn't dare mess with a good thing. All of the sound, graphics, and atmosphere are exactly the same as the original. Old favorite enemies such as shamblers and vores are joined by some new ones, including headless attackers and some weird gangly screaming things. But new toys join the new enemies, and the Slicer (which shoots tinny-sounding flying discs) is added to the awesome variety of weapons that make the original Quake the blast that it is.
As a single-player game, Q!Zone may not be quite challenging enough for more advanced players (the first eight-level episode on normal challenge takes about forty-five minutes to complete). The real value of this add-on set, though, is for multiplayer action. Many of the levels, while a little short for single-player play, make perfect forums for deathmatch excitement. One level in particular, composed of nothing but crisscrossing aerial walkways, leaves the player completely exposed, but it offers plenty of options for counterattack and escape. Other levels simply seem to be big, empty rooms put there to pad out the single-player offering.
Atmospheric and true to the original, Q!Zone may be a short appetizer as a single-player game, but the multiplayer main course is one that can be savored by friends and foes for a long time to come.
